Animal Cottage

“What are we going to do?!” asked Pinkie Pie.

After a moment of thought Twilight responded.

“Search for survivors and reunite them at the town hall. Prepare for the worst.”

“And what ‘bout ya?”

“I have to go to Canterlot and talk to Princesses Celestia and Luna. Spike, send a message to them, they must know what’s happening.”

Twilight opened her wings and went away, leaving her friends behind. The rest of the day they helped the ponies who had been hurt in the explosions: Among others Pinkie Pie rescued an orphaned Pound and Pumpkin, Rainbow Dash saved Vinyl and Octavia, Rarity healed a wounded Doctor Hooves, Starlight levitated some rubbish from Berry Punch’s house and Applejack found Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon under Cheerilee’s body. Like Twilight had said, they reunite all the survivors in the town hall, thanks to the detonations more than a half of all Ponyville’s population died. At afternoon Starlight tried to calm down the rest of them, during the meeting Rainbow Dash realized that Derpy was missing.

“Ponies, please!” exclaimed Starlight trying to handle the situation. “I know we’re all frightened but we can’t let somepony we don’t know deprive ourselves from our freedom!” Suddenly a screech was heard, something similar to a squeak from a rodent, and everypony frightened. Then all discovered the source: Discord, who didn’t help them, appeared cleaning the windows of the town hall with a wiper and a spray. “Discord, you really must do that now?”

“Fluttershy offered to clean them a few days ago, she’s not anywhere around so I have to. Besides you want streaks? Because if you interrupt me, that’s what you’ll get!”

From nowhere a dead pony impaled Discord from behind, crushing the window and killing him in the process. The mentioned pony was Derpy, who had two fireworks rockets in her sockets and a time bomb in her mouth. The ponies didn’t noticed that, during the stampede, Derpy was kidnapped by Fuzzy Legs and his insects, dragging her underground and killing her. Rainbow Dash noticed the bomb in her mouth and warned everypony to stay away from her a second before the bomb exploded, disintegrating both Derpy and Discord. During the smoke clearing rodents, insects and birds of all sizes came in the town hall and cornered all the ponies against a wall. From the main door entered Angel, with Winona and Opal protecting him on each side and Owlowiscious above closing the door. Both owners of the dog and cat were shocked and terrified when they discovered them working with the enemy and Angel approached the podium, touched the microphone with his paw and proceeded.

“Angel. Talk. Pony” the bunny didn’t said it with subtitles, but he was actually speaking in a squeaky voice before clearing his throat, replacing his previous voice with a more formal, beau one. “I’m sorry. Let me start over. Eons ago, all animals were equal.”

“Oh, oh” Pinkie Pie interrupted him, unaware of the situation, by raising her hoofs. “How long you’ve been able to talk?”

“Let’s see” Angel responded. “Today’s Tuesday so if yesterday was full moon. ALWAYS YOU DUMBASS!”

“But we remained quiet until now” said Opal.

“Don’t interrupt our Beloved Leader Angel Bunny, ya scum” said Winona.

“Where was I? Oh right, then some force permitted your ancestors to evolve into superior creatures, meanwhile the rest of us suffered for millions of years in your shadows, but when you began to take care of us, we learned that as long as we had good attention and love we could tolerate you.”

“And we did” said Applejack. “Ya seemed so happy livin’ with us.”

“That was until you signed that stupid law. We don’t really care about money but PAYING TAXES FOR KEEPING A PET AND ITS ATTENDANCE?! AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE ENOUGH YOU HAVE TO KICK IT OUT TO THE STREETS?! JUST SO YOU COULD KEEP YOUR LIVING?! THAT’S UNACCEPTABLE!”

“Hey” said Spike trying to save himself. “I don’t know if you have noticed but I’m a dragon, not a pony. So I’m your friend.”

“Spike!” Rarity smacked him as a corrective.

“You’re not our friend, you have always supported them like the draconequus. Both of you are traitors who deserve death. But just as there are some of us who supports you ponies, there are some of you who support our cause.”

The main door opened once more, revealing the pony from the holograms.

“Like her.”

It appeared to be no other than Fluttershy herself. The white painting was still on her face, her mane was dyed in blue, pink and yellow and her hooves had wounds, trying to simulate a paw. Her eyes were red, indicating that she had transformed back into Flutterbat, who approached slowly the podium and Angel gave her his place. She spoke to the crowd.

“For years I thought ponies were the most kind of all creatures but I was wrong. Ponies are weak, fool, selfish, manipulative and pathetic! My animal friends helped me when I was most needed, during their first meeting I accidentally discovered them but instead of killing me they helped me to see the light. Why I have to be a pony when I can be faster, stronger and smarter? If being a pony means that I have to throw them into the cold and watch them starve to death then I don’t want to be a pony anymore! And this is the proof I need to make you understand I’m serious!”

Owlowiscious put out a bag and then threw it to the crowd. Spike caught it and when he opened it the surprise was horrendously atrocious: it was the cutthroat heads of Celestia and Luna and with them was a note that Spike read.

“From your Majesties... Princess Philomena and Prince Tiberius?!”

“But wait” Rarity asked. “Without them who would control the sun and moon?”

“They are going to restore their natural course, like before. Every animal deserves to be equal.”

“What guarantees you he will fulfill his word?” asked Starlight interrupting her. “What guarantees you he will not get rid of you once this atrocity is over?”

“Because I trust him, he has been my friend longer than any of you. Of all the ponies present here I was hoping for you Starlight to understand it as much as I do, after all you’ve been there before.”

An awkward silence was present in the room. “So” asked Pinkie Pie. “Where are you going to banish us?”

“PINKIE!” all exclaimed at unison.

“I, Queen Flutterbat, hereby banish all ponies to the place where life began. The sea!”

“Wait, stop!” Rainbow Dash flew and spoke for everypony, convincing them to not give up. “We can outsmart them! Don’t forget we invented the wheel, railway line, balloon trip, fashion, strawberry cake and cider. I’m not going to let a few damn inferior creatures push me around!”

“Oh Dashie” said Flutterbat as she clapped sarcastically. “You’re so predictable and naïve.”

Angel ordered Hummingway, Constance, Margaret and Mordecai to capture Rainbow Dash’s wings, Mousey and the rodents to immobilize her and the insects, Winona and Opal to control to the rest so they couldn’t help her.

“Fluttershy, don’t you realize what they’ve done to you?” the cyan pony was desperately scared. “They brainwashed you!”

“Oh no Rainbow Dash. You are the brainwashed one.”

Owlowiscious snatched Tank away from her hooves and took him to the highest point of the town hall. He growled anxiously because he knew what was coming but he didn’t want to do it.

“Any animal that supports the ones with four hooves is an enemy and deserves to die!” Angel threatened Tank.

“No Tank, don’t do this! I LOVE YOU!”

The tortoise, fearing for his life, made his choice: he got into his shell and Owlowiscious released him. The ponies closed their eyes but heard the crack from Rainbow Dash’s head. For a moment Tank stuck his head out of the shell to saw Rainbow Dash in front of him, one of her eyes remained open. Whether because of the skull fracture or the sadness of knowing her pet was with the enemy all the time it was spilling blood as a teardrop. Flutterbat ordered the insects to take the body out of sight and give it as food to the troops.

“If you don’t want to be in the game” said Flutterbat coldly. “Get out now.”

With Flutterbat, Angel, Winona and Opal supervising them the survivors were expelled from the town hall and outside the rest of the animal army were surrounding the ruins of Ponyville, forming a blockade so the ponies could only follow a single road, being the closest route to the ocean, and keeping an eye on them in case somepony dared to do the same. While the crowd was walking Pinkie Pie noticed Gummy having a six-pack yoke around his mouth and went to help him.

“Oh, no. Poor Gummy” she said as she got rid of it. “It’s done. Wow Gummy, your teeth are starting to grow.”

“Pinkie Pie” said the alligator, his voice was the raspy one from the holograms and Flutterbat only had done lip-sync.

Pinkie gasped surprised. “Yes Gummy?”

“There’s something I wanted to do since the first day we met.”

“And what is it?”

Gummy bit her nose rapidly and tried to rip it out of her face. Pinkie screamed in pain and both Rarity and Applejack came to save her. While the unicorn used her magic to open the reptile’s jaws the earth pony pull Pinkie away from Gummy, when she was freed the pink pony look at her former pet and burst into tears.

“Gummy... How could you?”

Concerned of the action Applejack ran to the town’s fountain and did the same Rainbow Dash tried. “Come on, ponies! We can’t surrender to these animals!”

“But Applejack” interrupted Rarity. “We can’t hurt our little friends.”

Applejack came down from the fountain. “These are not our friends, that dog over there is not mah friend” she said as she pointed to her former pet. “Mah Winona would have never accepted to kill mah sister!”

Winona was about to attack when Angel stopped her. Starlight agreed with her friend. “Applejack’s right! We’ve wiped out entire species before! We can do it again!”

Starlight punched the closest animal to her in the face and everypony started to do the same, the animals countered them and instantly Ponyville’s main plaza was transformed into a bloodbath. At the beginning both teams had the same number of lows until Angel released Harry and Tim and the ponies’ numbers went down. At one point Tim spotted Rarity and was about to quarter her until Spike interfered and saved her by pushing her. The dragon received the attack and the timberwolf shook his head. Applejack and Rarity managed to burn Tim alive and the timberwolf lied death on the battlefield, unfortunately Spike couldn’t survive because of the internal hemorrhage, the unicorn held him on her back and covered his head. The death of the timberwolf surprised the animals and raised the spirit of the equines. Starlight, wounded and with her energies drained, shouted.

“Come on, ponies! Let’s drive them back to the ocean!”

Both ponies and animals battled to death.